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THE BIG PICTURE
Trump's disapproval rating has hit a record 62% as the Iran war's economic damage continues to pile up — and the White House response is to blame Elizabeth Warren for Spirit Airlines and pretend the blockade isn't a war. Only problem? The Spirit CEO blamed Trump.
Meanwhile, Pete Hegseth is now so isolated at the Pentagon he's bringing his wife to work while he purges the last remaining professionals around him, Iran is pressing for a 30-day peace deal that Trump is already signaling he'll reject, and Rudy Giuliani is in the hospital in critical condition.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS
1. Trump's Disapproval Hits 62% — A Record for Either Term
A new poll out this weekend puts Trump's disapproval at 62%, the worst number of either of his presidencies (The Guardian US). The Daily Beast separately confirms he has hit a historic new low, with Democrats showing early signs of structural strength (The Daily Beast). The driver is unmistakable: the Iran war is costing people at the pump, at the airport, and at the grocery store, and no amount of spin is moving those numbers. Worth noting — this is exactly the trajectory we've been tracking since Brent crude crested $125. The floor may not have arrived yet.
2. The White House Has No Answer on the War's Legality — and Knows It
Since our last briefing, the administration's strategy of pretending the Iran conflict is not a war has become its own news story. Attorney General Todd Blanche refused on Sunday to say whether Trump is deliberately avoiding the word "war" to sidestep congressional approval (Huffington Post News). Top economic adviser Kevin Hassett separately claimed he does not know what constitutes an act of war — while defending the ongoing naval blockade (Huffington Post News). This is coordinated ignorance. Every official is reading from the same script: don't say "war," don't trigger the War Powers Clock, don't give Congress an opening. Iran, for its part, has now formally proposed a 30-day resolution to end the conflict entirely rather than just extend the ceasefire (AP Politics) — and Trump's response was to say Iran hasn't "paid a big enough price" yet (The Guardian US). He is almost certainly going to reject it.
3. Blaming Everyone But Themselves on Spirit Airlines
The Spirit Airlines collapse — which we covered as a direct casualty of Iran war fuel prices — is now a multi-front spin operation. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed Elizabeth Warren, specifically her habit of "writing letters" to corporations (The Daily Beast). The White House's chief economic adviser found a way to blame the Biden administration (Huffington Post News). And the Spirit Airlines CEO implicitly blamed Trump and rising gas prices related to his war in Iran (INC). Nobody in the administration will say the words "Iran war" and "fuel prices" in the same sentence. The gap between what they're saying and what's obviously true is enormous and easy to document.
4. The Pentagon Is in Free Fall
New reporting from The Guardian portrays the Defense Department as an institution in genuine crisis. Hegseth has purged officers described by insiders as having "impeccable reputations," and sources inside the building are using the word "disarray" without qualification (The Guardian US). The Daily Beast adds a detail that tells the whole story: Hegseth is now so isolated that he has been bringing his wife to work as his staff disappears around him (The Daily Beast). This is a defense secretary conducting a loyalty purge during an active war. The national security implications of that sentence should be front and center.
5. RFK Jr.'s Health Empire Is Now Being Called "Christofascism"
A major Guardian investigation published this weekend goes further than any previous mainstream outlet in naming what RFK Jr. has built at HHS. The piece documents a systematic dismantling of public health infrastructure driven by Christian nationalist ideology — from "spiritual warfare" prescriptions to the demonization of credentialed scientists (The Guardian US). Separately, autism advocates and health officials are publicly accusing the administration of drowning the country in misinformation and engineering a "crisis of public trust" around vaccines (The Guardian US).
6. Rudy Giuliani Is in the Hospital in Critical Condition — and Trump Responded by Attacking Democrats
Giuliani, 81, is in critical but stable condition in a Florida hospital (CNN). The cause of hospitalization has not yet been disclosed as of this writing. His last public appearance was Friday on his own show he apparently has on Twitter called "America's Mayor Live," where he was coughing and told viewers he was "a little under the weather" (NBC News). Rather than focusing on Giuliani's condition, Trump used his Truth Social post to blast Democrats, writing this insane screed:
“What a tragedy that he was treated so badly by the Radical Left Lunatics, Democrats ALL — AND HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING! They cheated on the Elections, fabricated hundreds of stories, did anything possible to destroy our Nation, and now, look at Rudy. So sad!”
This is the man who once held a press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping — a parking lot between a crematorium and a dildo shop — to announce he was overturning American democracy. He went on to face a $148 million defamation judgment, lose his law license, and end up hawking autographed memorabilia to cover his bills. Trump's response managed to make Giuliani's hospitalization about Trump. Which, to be fair, is on brand for both of them.
TODAY’S QUESTION
How do you feel about Rudy Giuliani being hospitalized?
THINGS TO WATCH
The "We Don't Know What a War Is" Defense Is Becoming Doctrine. Two senior officials in two days have publicly claimed ignorance of whether an ongoing naval blockade constitutes an act of war. This is not confusion — it is a coordinated legal strategy to avoid the War Powers Act. Watch for this language to harden into official talking points as the 30-day proposal is rejected.
Trump Is Rejecting Peace, and Polling Is Moving Against Him. The 62% disapproval number, combined with his "hasn't paid enough" framing on Iran, suggests the White House is betting that public opinion will eventually shift back their way — or that they can ride out the pain long enough to blame Democrats. Neither looks likely given the economic trajectory.
The Epstein/Maxwell Thread Refuses to Die. Republicans on a House panel are now openly split on whether Ghislaine Maxwell should receive clemency to cooperate with an Epstein investigation (The Guardian US). King Charles's return to the UK is being shadowed by Prince Andrew's Epstein ties (The Daily Beast). SNL's Weekend Update hit Trump with an Epstein-Andrew joke in the same breath as the royal visit (Huffington Post News). The story is not going away, and the Maxwell clemency debate could crack it open.
Tucker Carlson Is Auditioning for Something. His description of Trump as casting a "spell" that makes people "more compliant" — compared to "smoking hash" (Huffington Post News) — is not the language of a casual observer. He is building a post-Trump brand in real time. Worth watching whether this accelerates as Trump's poll numbers stay underwater.
👀 KEPT OUT OF YOUR FEED
What the algorithm buried:
SNL roasted Trump's Epstein ties using King Charles's own gift — and it landed perfectly.
The feds are calling a noise demo outside an ICE detention center an act of terrorism — and that's exactly the point.
A new generation of Black Americans in the South is facing a fight their grandparents already won — after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act.
Portland just became the largest US city to protect polyamorous families from discrimination — in housing, jobs, and public spaces. One woman says it was "one of the greatest relief moments of our lives."
A doctor is asking why Trump made a secret dentist trip when the White House has had its own dental office since the Hoover administration.
Adam Schiff just coined a term that perfectly sums up Trump's revenge DOJ — and it involves seashells.
SCOTUS justice Neil Gorsuch got cornered on those bombshell court leaks — and his answer was something else.
The NYT asked 12 Trump voters how they feel now — and their answers will make your jaw drop. One thought income taxes were going away entirely. Another believed the penny makes up "a lot of our budget money." Most gave Trump a D or an F. The internet had the only appropriate response.
Trump forgot what he said about Iran within 24 hours — and it was caught on camera.
While Marco Rubio cosplays as a DJ at a wedding, the Iran war he's supposed to be managing keeps marching on.
NOTICE POLLING
Yesterday, we asked, Do you think Congress should formally declare a constitutional crisis?
OVER 99% OF YOU SAID YES:
“We have been in constitutional crisis since January 20, 2025. What the heck else does he need to do to get someone, anyone to do something about him?????”
- twoasps
“This is insane! You are teaching our kids that it is ok to break the law anyway you want without punishment.”
- debbnkc“We can protest, yell and stomp our feet all we want to, but until congress and the courts take action, we are a meaningless gong blowing in the wind of destruction.”
- callajr.jc
“If they don’t, then they are complicit with the grifts, lies, cheating, theft and unpatriotic madness in the worst administration in history!!!!!! Trump SHOULD BE BEHIND BARS.”
- debroth
“What will it take to get Congress to do its job? This entire administration has been one disaster after another with absolutely no oversight. Why are they even receiving a pay check? They’re grifting as much as the Trump family is.”
- a.smoot
“WHAT are they waiting for i have to ask? Also, where are our Military LEADERS who could stand up to Hegseth and just say NO, this has to STOP! What else is it you believe us poor simple Americans CAN do? Tell US! OR DO Something, other than 'being concerned'!”
- cathy
“We just need to get rid of Trump before he completes the end of America. We have become the laughing stock of the world. Regular people can’t afford gas food or basic necessities. Look at the amount of rally’s against him and all the walk outs. Please impeach him before he can do anymore damage to our beautiful country. ”
- kurtma64
“I can't even begin to cover ALL the reasons. This has become a hellish nightmare for our country. The SCOTUS us corrupt, the POTUS AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY is corrupt, the entirety of the cabinet is corrupt and/or incompetent, and THEY ALL are in collusion to damage this country in any and every way possible. I think "constitutional crisis" has been in the rear-view mirror for a LOOONG TIME! When is anyone going to do the right thing and hold them all accountable?!?!?!?!?”
- michaelhogshooter
Until next time,
